Portal to Somewhere
by HuntsmanCertified
Summary: The lone survivor of Granite Peak, an Atlas expansion effort, a young man must seek his place in the world. Not that it simple by any means. It's hard to find a place in the world when someone can travel from continent to continent in the span of a few seconds. Broken? Maybe. Did that matter? Definitely not!


Grimm.

They were the enemy of mankind. Creatures of malevolence that stalked humanity at every turn. They had sought to exterminate the human race as far back as people could remember. People were fearful of expansion, Mount Glenn fresh on their minds. The Grimm had poured over the walls and slaughtered thousands of innocent people.

It didn't mean that people had quit trying. In the wake of a population boom, people threw fear to the wayside in search of progression. It was that, or resort to population control. None of the Kingdoms were foolish enough to entertain such a notion. The masses would surely revolt.

Kuroyuri had fallen just recently, along with a number of her neighbors. The Grimm were pushing almost uncharacteristically. No one had seen such vigor in them in several decades! One by one, settlements began to disappear overnight.

Granite Peak had been the last to succumb.

They were in a naturally defensible position, sitting alone on top of a cliff. It took a small party of three Huntsman to protect the only entrance into the settlement. For a time, it looked as though they would resist the tide of Grimm. Time, however, played a factor.

Huntsman and Huntresses were people of extraordinary power. They possessed aura and Semblances. However, even they required sleep and nourishment. All it took was one slip up in the rotation. One single moment for a Beowulf to slip through their defenses. Blood ran through the streets as the civilians were butchered like cattle.

* * *

I could smell the poignant scent of blood in the air, it was strong enough to gag me. My frail body struggled to continue as I trudged ever onwards. I don't know what I was looking for, let alone how I had survived this long. I was five and not even having my aura unlocked would keep me alive forever. I was scared, that's for sure.

People laid in the streets of the Peak, some battered and broken. The rest were torn to shreds or crushed beneath buildings. I felt for the last group the most. They had sought shelter, only for said shelter to serve as their tomb. My legs faltered, I stumbled. I looked forward blearily and caught the last few seconds of a King Taijitu devour a corpse whole.

At least I hope it was a corpse.

It's eyes, bloody and pointing, turned to regard me with interest. Hunger. The meal it had just finished wasn't enough. I was tired, too exhausted to run from something larger than most houses. My world started to darken. Was I passing out?

The last thought to cross my mind was the sudden urge to be anywhere else right now. My legs failed me and I toppled forward, eyes shutting as unconsciousness claimed me. I never noticed the drain on my paltry reserves or the soft blue circle that I fell into.

I did catch the infuriated screech of my attacker, though.

* * *

General James Ironwood had quite the established reputation. He had proven himself irreplaceable in Atlas' hierarchy. No one had the political clout, let alone the audacity to claim otherwise. He grimaced as he took a sip of Atlesian Black and regarded the woman in front of him with a calm outward gaze.

"Give me the full rundown," the Headmaster's tone left no room for arguments.

"We've just received confirmation that Granite Peak fell this morning. The walls were overrun during a shift rotation. Outside of one, we've been unable to locate any survivors."

Ironwood's eyebrow arched. The woman across from him took that as her cue to continue, "Specialists found a small child several miles from the village. We've been unable to determine exactly how he was able to make it so far. He possesses aura so we've come to the conclusion that it may be related to his Semblance."

In other words, no one had any idea whatsoever how a small boy managed to escape something that claimed the lives of several experienced Hunters. His interest peaked, he motioned his hand as though to receive something. He soon found himself inspecting a large manila folder. Inside lay all the information that the military could scrounge up last minute. His eyes roamed the pages with curiosity.

Attilius Nazerith. Five years of age, only child of Rosemary and Julius Nazerith. Both were retired information analysts for the Atlas military. He had had the pleasure of speaking with them on a number of occasions. Good people, harder workers. One of the three Huntsman stationed at the Peak had unlocked his aura the week prior to prep him for light training. Apparently the child dreamed of being a Huntsman.

His parents had been found in the remains of a decrepit building, torn to shreds. The pictures that accompanied the file threatened his calm appearance, hand clenching the file tightly. Atlas had certainly screwed up this time. They'd otherwise failed to respond to Granite Peak's distress signal in time. Frowning, James made his decision.

"Bring Attilius to me, please."

The Specialist saluted him, "Yes, sir!"

* * *

I had panicked as soon as I woke up. Not that anyone could blame me. It isn't everyday that you watch your entire life burn up in the face of the Grimm and live to tell the tale. I wasn't even entirely sure how I had survived. Any time I thought back on the end there, all I could draw were blanks. What I did remember, however, was the death of my parents.

My chest ached at the thought of them. I was never going to see them again. Sniffling, I stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. My attention found itself drawn away as the door to my hospital room opened. And wasn't that another surprise. I had somehow ended up in the capital, key word there being somehow.

It was a woman, probably around my mother's age. She was comely enough with mousy features and a pressed military uniform. Her brunette hair was high and tight in a bun to prevent it from falling in her face. My chest burned anew as I was reminded of mom.

"Y-Yes?" By the Brothers, I hated the stuttering.

"Good afternoon, Attilius. The Headmaster for Atlas requested that I escort you to him. Are you feeling up to a little walk?"

No, not really.

I'd much rather lay here and waste away. Something told me that wasn't much of an option, though. She may seem nice on the surface, I'd be a fool to recognize it for what it was. I meekly nodded my head. She smiled at me, a reassuring little grin. With the patience of a saint, she helped me get out of bed and get dressed.

It was embarrassing, but there wasn't a single part of me that could be bothered to care.

We left the hospital room in short order and only then did I realize I was in the medical wing of Atlas Academy. Or what I believed it was, it certainly looked like a school. We took a flight of stairs and two turns to reach our destination, Headmaster Ironwood burned into a plaque on the front door. I was five, not stupid.

I didn't need her to tell me to guess who was on the other side of that door.

Hardening my resolve, I followed her into the office to confront my future.

* * *

**Hey! Thank you so much for taking the time to actually give this story a chance! Anyway, I've been on a bit of a RWBY binge recently and figured I'd give it a try. It's short but I figured I'd experiment with first person point of view for this. Hopefully it'll allow me to better get into character and write a compelling story. Who knows?**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be longer in length. I'm hard pressed to bench out anything of substantial length at the moment but that should certainly change in time. Drop a review and let me know what you think!**


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